Parking
From the Blue Bell entrance, drive south on State Highway 87 about 1.7 miles. Use the right-side pullout beside the small road marked 25683; formal lot capacity and facilities were not confirmed.
Overview
About Parker Canyon Loop
Why go
- The canyon and meadow return give the loop distinct scenery.
- A compact circuit combines the Parker Canyon path with Centennial Trail.
Heads up
- Road crossings near Highway 87 need attention.
- The roadside pullout is small and its parking capacity is unconfirmed.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Custer map
Full mapElevation4,708–4,997 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Custer Tour Guide
Your drive to Parker Canyon Loop, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Custer State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Parker Canyon: A Canyon-and-Meadow Loop0:00 / 0:23
“Parker Canyon Loop is coming up, starting from a roadside pullout on Highway eighty-seven. Choose this for a walk through the canyon and up into an open meadow, with a return along the Centennial Trail.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Pronghorn's Unusual Horns
- Why Trout Like Cold Water
- The Prairie Below the Grass
- The Squirrel’s Winter Store
- 82 audio storiesacross Custer’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Wapiti, Bighorn Sheep, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 40 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Trail guide
Hiking Parker Canyon Loop
The loopParker Canyon Loop is a moderate 4.
Parker Canyon Loop is a moderate 4.4-mile circuit from a roadside pullout on State Highway 87 south of Blue Bell. The route climbs through Parker Canyon, crosses near the entrance, then returns on the Centennial Trail and a short meadow connector. Published figures put it at about 500 feet of gain and 1.5–2 hours; allow roughly two hours.
Canyon to meadowThe route follows Parker Canyon before climbing toward a large meadow and rejoining the…
The route follows Parker Canyon before climbing toward a large meadow and rejoining the Centennial Trail, a shared multi-use path. The park’s directions describe an east-uphill connection from Highway 87 to the meadow and Centennial Trail. That short connector is not drawn as a distinct OSM way, so use the park’s marked route on the ground rather than treating the stored line as survey-grade.
Road crossings and wildlifeThe loop crosses roads near Blue Bell, including Highway 87 and Wildlife Loop Road.
The loop crosses roads near Blue Bell, including Highway 87 and Wildlife Loop Road. Pause at each crossing and use the marked junctions. Bison roam the park’s open grasslands and are dangerous at close range, especially during spring calving and the late-summer rut; give them plenty of space.
Access and route variantThe walking loop’s directions start at a pullout on the right side of Highway 87 about 1.
The walking loop’s directions start at a pullout on the right side of Highway 87 about 1.7 miles south of the park entrance, beside a small road marked 25683. A separate park horse itinerary starts at French Creek Horse Camp and takes about four hours on horseback; that is a different approach, not this shorter walking loop. Hiking-specific access details, parking capacity and the dog rule were not confirmed, so check with the park before bringing a pet.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Custer
993 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
91 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
258 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
85 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
256 sightingsBurroMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
707 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Custer. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
